The Proposal to the
Policy and Law System
for Cleaner Production in China
Du xiang-ying, Hao fu-an, Zhang hong, Wang
yao–hui
(Academy of Machinery Science & Technology P.R.C, Beijing,
100044)
Abstract: The article first analyses some problems
against The Cleaner Production principle in related to existing
policies and legislation in China. It illustrated the location of
The Cleaner Production policy in the national industrial policies
and environment and resource policies. Furthermore, the system of
policy and legislation for implementing The Cleaner Production in
China is proposed.
Keywords: the Cleaner Production, policy, legislation,
position, system
How to control industrial pollution is a worldwide issue. The
Cleaner Production emphasizes on Source Reduction of pollutant. It
decreases pollutant to the minimum by controlling the process of
production and the life- cycle of products, and thus accomplishing
the unity of benefits of environmental and economics. The ideas
will change the traditional modes of “harness after pollution”
and to create Cleaner Industry. Therefore, to pursue The Cleaner
Production is considered to be an essential way to accomplish
industrial sustainable development.
The Cleaner Production has been carried out for over 10-15
years in developed countries. Same as China and India, many
developing countries are also working hard to improve the practice
of The Cleaner Production in recent years. In China, as industrial
enterprises have been following an extensive form of operation for
a long period of time, the progress of practicing The Cleaner
Production has been more or less slow down, while kinds of
difficulties arose. It is an urgent issue to introduce market
mechanism, strengthen the guidance of policy, and to speed up the
practice of the Cleaner Production by means of legislation.
1. Analysis of problems in current domestic policy and
legislation
So far, China has already set up “Environmental Protection
law” as well as sub-legislation related to the environmental and
resources protection. Upon which, a whole sets of legislation has
been accomplished basically. It’s true that the amount of
articles in legislation for environment protection is not less
than any of the developed countries, in the mean time, related
measures and regulations have been continuously issued and carried
out. However, for complicated reasons, the environment problems
still exist and there is no obvious turning. Industrial pollution
prevention relates to extensive fields, it involves environment
and resource, not only lower reaches and ends, but upper reaches
and sources also. The correct way is to join economic development
and environmental protection into an organic part, and to deal
with all points above together as a unity. We consider that
problems below exist in the present policy and legislation.
1.1 For government’s reason, environment protection
and resource management are authorized to different departments.
Moreover, people are still acting in traditional modes. The above
reasons cause the “Artificial separation between environment and
resource”.
Chinese legislative power leans too much on administrative
power, besides of it, most of article is established to suit for
present structure of administrative management. The laws and
policies which relate to upper reaches and sources are in fact not
made and carried out by the environmental managing departments.
Mainly they are: Industrial policy, economic policy, energy (
types and prices) policy, transport policy, technology policy,
import and export trade policy and so on. The environmental
managing departments are working on mapping and carrying out
related policies for lower reaches. They focus on controlling
pollution discharge during the later stage of production (taking
charge of enterprises’ pollution-discharge level reaching
national standards). However, they ignore the pollutant production
and pollutant reduction during productive progress. Because of the
vertical and horizontal crossing of administrative managing system
and the effect of extensive economic developing mode over a long
period of time, the conformity of environmental policy, policy
from departments and local policies is very low. Between the
environment and development preference, latter one is acquired
much more attention than environmental protection. There’s
neither environmental eco-veto nor decision procedure including
strategic plan, policy and important planning items are made.
Also, economic, society and environment haven’t been considered
systematically.
In the remarking of enterprise-responsibility process, they
focus on enterprises’ output, total value of production,
profits, tax and increment of assets, but ignores the marks
related to environmental protection. No promises for enterprises
to make in environmental protection. Even though the “pollution
discharge reached the standard level” still have questions. In
joint venture project with foreigners, local government and
department emphasize on economic development, so some of the heavy
pollution items are shipped into China.
Therefore, yet we haven’t been working effectively on making
policies and legislation on industrial structure, technology and
process application, source pollution prevention, and to prevent
pollution with effective economic measures.
1.2 Most environmental legislation are set up from the
stance of governmental management, it emphasize on the right of
administrative, but less articles on protecting individual and
enterprises benefit, which could not fully represent the rights of
civilian and enterprises to protect their economic and
environmental benefit.
In fact, it is very important to carry out The Cleaner
Production Technology, which not only reduce environment
pollution, but raise the enterprises’ benefit, improve workers’
working condition and safety during production. It is closely
linked to the benefit of them-self. This should embody in
legislation.
Appropriate encourage and restrain system should also be set up
and to promote industries following the policies, laws and
regulations.
Lacking public participation and supporting from mass level,
the legislation’s power will be weakened. This is also a reason
of happening “ actions against law and no-accused on violating
law”.
1.3 Regulation about “ The one who pollutes should
harness ” and the pollution charging systems have illness.
Express in the too low fine levels and short of factors in fine
details.
Because the fine is lower than the cost of pollution harness,
enterprises prefer pay the fine than to harness. So, no agenda on
investment in the Cleaner Production technology application for
enterprises. License systems are effective abroad. Because of
ineffective monitoring and managing measure, license system is
difficult to carry out in China and no due effect has bee brought
into full play.
The policy of “The one who pollutes should harness” has
been carried out in a long period of time, which guides
enterprises to set up doted harness facilities. Separate
investments, in fact, not only cause large one-time cost to one
enterprise, but hard to reach the degree of industrialize level as
well.
With low efficiency management, It’s not benefit for the
prevention and harness of industrial pollution, and do not cope
with the principle of “ Pollution harness centralize” as well
as large-scale socialized production.
Besides, present laws are made according to different mediums.
It’s under-control separately according to different types—water,
air and soil. This will cause the second pollutant during the
mediums transfer. Therefore, the total amount of pollutant
reduction seems to be less effective.
1.4 Unclear borders between policies, laws,
administrations regulations and managing bodies mixed, produce
negative effective.
The basic legislation articles are equal to or similar to
policy principle. Some administrative regulations are usually
issued as documents. These documents which appear as “rules”,
“Regulations” or “ suggestions”, which do not get into the
legal track, so they’re less authority. Some laws are poor in
forerunning. Some articles are obviously falling behind or even
being away from reality. Moreover, some legislation and
regulations are not mature enough and are less operative.
As a legal system, there’re still imperfect and blind-point
aspect, among laws articles and regulations do not set up a close
linkage or dependency. This will cause some pollution prevention
and harness problems occurring because no law can follow in our
market activities.
2. The location of The Cleaner Production policy
2.1 Relationships among The Cleaner Production policy
and legislation, standard and regulations.
Policy is a guideline which is made by the government for
achieving the target in a period time in history. Policy matches
with state development strategy, which represent the wills of
government realize it’s development strategy.
Law is made by National Legislation Organization, passed by
national highest power organization and execute by government
department.
Articles and regulations are the detailed law. It give a clear
explanation and statement so as to ensure the law executing in
right way.
Law involves national statutes, professional statutes and local
statutes. It’s usually issued and carried out by government
organization (practicing organization).
Marketing economy is a legal economy. “ To govern the country
by laws” demands all the activities should be under controlled,
standardized and guided by law.
However, a perfect policy statutes system that not only relates
to legislations, but it should be pledged to practice and followed
effectively also. It needs an effective supervise and monitor
system.
Law, statutes and regulations form the foundation of the
policy. It gives the basic requirements in applying law, detail
regulations and process of practice, supervise as well as monitor
method. It clearly stipulates the legal responsibility when
violate law.
As an organic part of national environmental policy and
industrial policy, The Cleaner Production policy should propose
the action code and guidance thoughts of pollution prevention in
current China, The Cleaner Production. legislation of The Cleaner
Production should be the legal form that represent the nation’s
Cleaner Production policy. Among these laws, pollution prevention
and The Cleaner Production should be placed in a higher position.
It should become the focus of environmental legislation. It
should be an organic part to embodied into national environmental
legal system and industrial legal system.
Standard is a central sector in Industrial Pollution Control.
To carry out The Cleaner Production, we should set up perfect
measure methods, strict and scientific examine standards and
standard system to assess The Cleaner Production. So, to reduce
pollutant and reduce of energy & material consume. This is a
basic action.
Till now, we still don’t have a set of perfect standard
system for environmental protection industrial products. And no
strict regulations and technology standard are made for
environmental protection standard and for common industrial
products, equipments and production line.
2.2 The proposal of The Cleaner Production policy
location in national environment & resource policy &
national industrial policy
The Cleaner Production is the mode of industrial development
and strategic practice under the guidance of sustainable
development strategy. It has its own specific principle and
concept, technology content and practical tools. It’s also a
connect point. It combines environmental protection with economic
development. It joins economic profit & environmental benefit
together.
The Cleaner Production provides a guidance line and basic
principle for making national environment & resource policy
and economic development policy.
Therefore, The Cleaner Production policy should become an
organic part of national environment & resource policy and
principle should be located in legal systems by means of
legislation rather than isolated from other policy. It should be
located from legal track.
The location of The Cleaner Production in environment &
resource statutes system should follow the principles below:
- “The end to the source”. We should emphasize on control
of resource reduction and completed progress control instead
of emphasize on procession of the end. We should turn
pollution harness into pollution prevention.
- Environmental pollution comes from wastes of resource.
Industrial production should accomplish the unity of economic
profit and environmental benefit.
According to the statistics, in national economy operation,
the final product that is in our social needs is only occupied
20-30% of used raw materials. The other parts all turn into
pollutants and waste. The purpose of carrying out Cleaner
Production and recovery and recycle of waste is just to
improve the utilization ratio of resource while reducing
resource (including energy resource) consume and waste, and
finally get the effect of pollutant reduction.
Environment is closely linked to resource. It is another sides
of one issue. To make policy, we should pay attention to their
coherency instead of separating them.
- Join the mediums (soil, water and air) as a unity. The
present policy and legislation separate the three mediums to
make laws for providing and curing pollution. However,
according to The Cleaner Production principle, the three
mediums should be treated as a unity so that no pollutant
happened in mediums transfer process.
3. Proposals of the national policy statutes system for The
Cleaner Production
The Cleaner Production and pollutant prevention has become the
focal point of national environment policy and legislation.
Because of the close-knit relationship between The Cleaner
Production and the source and productive progress of industrial
production, it also relates to industrial departments such as
circulation and service, so it should be the key point in nation’s
industrial policy.
In management, national economy synthetic department and
environmental management department should be joint hand and
carrying out The Cleaner Production with related organization, so
that The Cleaner Production can embody in different sides, such as
technology reform, resource synthetic utilization and production
management to make pollution prevention and economic management an
organic unity.
Therefore here are the suggestions for policy system that
relates to The Cleaner Production:
(1) Industrial policy
National strategy: Sustainable development and “Science &
Education rejuvenate China” strategy. These above turn the mode
of economic increment from extensive to intensify. From
traditional developing mode with high investment, huge resource
expense, huge pollution discharge to new developing mode, “economize
on resource”, “friendly environment”.
- Industrial structure policy: select key industries to
support, select to restrict or to ban developing industries,
cut high energy consume and heavy polluted enterprises
extensively.
- Industrial organization policy: propose to rational
scope and the mode of resource utilization of enterprise’
operation. (To improve economic profit & environmental
benefit by means of reducing cost). We should carry out the
revise policy to merge, reorganize assets, shut business and
so on.
- Industrial technology policy: proposed to lead
enterprises to take suitable & best cleaner technology and
to limited the range of banned technology and material, so as
to push forward the progress in technology and renewal of
technology. This involves policies for eliminating backward
technology and update or replace with modern technology and
equipments in limited period of time.
- Industrial statutes policy: making policy statutes
that relates to The Cleaner Production of professions
according to ISIC. Proposing limits and guide policies to
industry’s production scale, process & technology, raw
material selection, which have heavy pollute products. These
involve technological equipment policy? raw & subsidiary
material policy. Also, we should make detailed principles of
professional The Cleaner Productions and guidance of
professional waste reduction and so on.
- Local Industrial policy: Proposing policies of
embodying local advantages, revising the industrial layout and
improving local environmental quality according to the layout
of resource, the local environment condition, local industry
structure and developing level.
- Import and export managing policy: It involves the
permission of importation and quota management: register of
export declaration (for example, the punishment of illegal
imported goods ODS). Cutting down the importation tax of
environment protection technology and equipments. To attract
transnational companies to join the domain of environmental
Protection and energy resource in a large range. To lower the
importation tax of raw materials after high energy consuming
processing so as to increase percentage in importation.
(2) Laws and Statutes of environment & resource
- The Cleaner Production should be right located. We should
emphasize the prevention policy, clearly stipulate the content
of carrying out The Cleaner Production, recover waste and
comprehensive utilization of the waste.
- Managing regulation
- Supervision regulation of The Cleaner Production
- Cleaner Production responsible regulation (add the content
of The Cleaner Production in enterprise operation
responsibility monitor system) pluses eco-targets into
achievement assessment of enterprises.
- Environmental effect assessment and attached regulations of
the “3-meanwhiles”.
During projects approval and technical reform as well as
designing process, attaching Cleaner Production supervision
and audit process.
- Ratification regulation of pollution discharge permission.
- Environmental symbol regulation.
- The Cleaner Production reporting regulation of enterprises
and professions.
- Fine system of pollution discharge. Turn “the one who
pollutes should harness” into “the one who pollutes should
pay the fine.” Develop environmental protection industries.
Turn “decentralized harness “to” centralized harness.
- “The voluntary agreement” regulation
Enterprises make environmental promise by means of signing
voluntary agreements with responsible government department.
- Standards
- The standards of technology and The Cleaner Production of
Production equipment.
- The Standard and assessing method of “source reduction”---The
assessing standard system and calculation of “The Cleaner
Production”.
- The environmental protection standard of Industrial Products
(professional environmental standard)
The mutual promotion between The Cleaner Production and IS
014000, so as to provides best environment and solid
foundation for Cleaner Production to carry out. Meanwhile, to
perfect IS014000 series standards which relate to pollution
prevention . The domestic industry management should get on
the track of international standards as quickly as possible
while also pose environmental standards for foreign industry
entering Chinese market.
(3) Economic policies & statutes of The Cleaner
Production
- Tax/fee policy: Enterprises who use harmful or poisonous
materials should pay tax according to the content of harmful
composition and the amount of use. For example: levying
environmental taxes on ODS and related products, levying
discharging fee to the enterprise who is using ODS, levying
compensation tax on enterprises with pollutant discharge, such
as levying discharge tax of SO2, and levying extension tax of
resource. The original levy standards are too low. We suggest
that the new standard should be nine times more than the
original one.
- Price policy: making rational price policy of resource.
Utilizing signals of price to guide consumption. Encourage the
enterprises to produce cleaner products by means of different
price policies or offering cleaner products suitable price
bonus. The present price of mediums such as water is low. And
it will certainly cause the over expend of resource, then
where is economize on resource?
- Policy that encourages utilizing cleaner energy resource.
We should start from related laws and statutes. offer a
favorable conditions for development who produce cleaner
energy resource such as wind energy, solar energy and
biological energy.
- Offering preference and protection on tax levy on studying
production, selling, recovering and utilizing resource of
cleaner substitute.
- Investing policy: except for the budget from governments to
subsidize important items and support medium & small
enterprises,. By means of opening markets, encourage and
attract foreign capital, enterprises and individuals to invest
The Cleaner Production items. Carry out the policy “to
invest is to be benefited” ,to create best invest
environment to attract multi-channel funds.
- Policy of credit and interest discount: for example, items
of technology improvement in The Cleaner Production can be the
first to get discount.
- Policy of returning cash pledge: for example, for tinned
drinks, to carry out the policy of returning cash pledge is
good for recovering.
- Set up the clean-production funds, which is use to
supporting enterprise start The Cleaner Production items. It’s
also possible to take a certain percentage of levied discharge
pollute tax as part of funds.
- According to the policies that relate to industries with
high and modern technology and were made by the State Council,
after examined by related departments, the enterprises that
carry out CP can get the same preference.
- The CP equipments that have passed the examinations of CP
can improve its rote of depreciation. It can also fasten the
speed of depreciation.
- Governmental purchase: For purchase, the government should
choose the clean products in-advance. (Giving priority to the
government purchase and to purchase by means of inviting
tenders.)
(4) Policy and measure of information system and education
and training.
Information:
The acquired character of information is the key to improve the
CP strategy successfully.
- Set up a dynamical data collecting system of “source
reduction and recycle”, analysis the practicality and effect
of data to set up related database and policy supporting
system.
- Setup an annual reporting system of the promoting and
applying CP among profession & enterprise. According to
the report and the result assessment to decide the next year
plan of funding and necessary subscription.
- The CP information exchange and information system for
technology transfer.
Education:
- Senior education: The CP lesson formally become a part of
formal education system in universities. This involves
subjects for university students and postgraduates (It belongs
to cross subject and education over subjects).
- Training factory directors, management staffs, technicians
and sells-person.
- Pre-position & professional training for workers.
- Offer public training courses to eliminate the blind in The
Cleaner Production and education of legal popularization.
Improve the public consciousness and strengthen the public
participating and supervising.
Moreover, It’s essential to emphasize on training officials
and related staffs of governmental mechanism, financial system,
news media, judicial department and so.
Reference
- Wang Jinnan, Marketing economy and prevention of industrial
pollution [M], Beijing. Environmental& Science Publishing
House of China.1996.9
- Qian Zhi, Qian yong. Policy proposal for China to pursue The
Cleaner Production [J]. China Soft Science .1998(6): 117-122
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